Key takeaways:
- The European Digital Identity, through the EUDI Wallet, seeks to establish an interoperable means of identification recognised across the European Union.
- It enables users to prove certified attributes (age, qualification, identity) while ensuring data minimisation and maintaining user control.
- The eIDAS 2.0 reform transforms digital identity into a strategic infrastructure for securing public and private exchanges at European level.
- Organisations will need to adapt their authentication systems, but will benefit from accelerated onboarding, reduced fraud and simplified cross-border interactions.
- Verified identity must be integrated into a complete chain of trust (electronic signature, electronic seal, qualified electronic time stamp, secure preservation) in order to ensure fully enforceable digital evidence.
What is the European Digital Identity?
The European Digital Identity is based on the deployment of a digital wallet, known as the EU Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet), which each Member State will be required to make available to its citizens and businesses.
This wallet functions as a secure application in which users retain, under their control, their identification data and certified attributes. It is not a centralised European database, but a decentralised tool enabling verified information to be presented to public or private services, strictly where necessary. It thus becomes possible to prove a specific attribute, such as being over the legal age or holding a professional qualification, without disclosing the full set of associated personal data. This approach directly reflects the principles of data minimisation and data protection enshrined in the GDPR.
The European Digital Identity is therefore not merely an additional identifier. It constitutes a common infrastructure for reliable and interoperable authentication across the single market.
Why is this reform decisive?
At present, online identification remains fragmented and duplicative. Each platform imposes its own system, verification processes are repeated, and cross-border journeys remain complex. This situation generates significant costs for organisations and, at times, a suboptimal user experience.
The European ambition is to create an environment in which an identity recognised in one Member State can be used in another without loss of validity or excessive technical complexity. This mutual recognition will simplify administrative procedures, secure transactions and strengthen the fight against fraud.
Beyond operational efficiency, the reform is also strategic in nature. The European Digital Identity contributes to the development of enhanced digital sovereignty by offering a structured alternative to authentication solutions largely dominated by non-European providers.
eIDAS 2.0: an expanded trust architecture
The first version of the eIDAS Regulation, adopted in 2014, established a framework for the recognition of national electronic identification schemes and regulated trust services such as electronic signatures and electronic time stamping.
The current revision, which entered into force at European level in May 2024, goes further. It requires Member States to make an interoperable digital wallet available and sets out more detailed technical and security requirements. Identity thus becomes a central component of the European trust architecture.
This change in scale transforms digital identity into a structuring infrastructure, intended for use by public authorities as well as private actors, including those operating in regulated sectors.
What are the practical implications for organisations?
The entry into force of the European Digital Identity will have direct consequences for businesses and institutions providing services that require reliable identification.
Authentication systems will need to evolve in order to recognise and process identities issued through European wallets. This adaptation entails changes to technical architectures, as well as a reassessment of data governance and the management of transmitted attributes.
In return, the benefits are significant. The onboarding of new clients can be accelerated through the use of certified identities. The risk of impersonation is reduced. Cross-border interactions become more seamless. The verification of specific attributes can be automated while complying with data minimisation principles.
The European Digital Identity therefore paves the way for more efficient and more secure processes.
The complete chain of evidence
The European Digital Identity provides a structured response to the issue of authentication. It enables certification that a user is indeed who they claim to be, through verified attributes recognised across the European Union.
Identification, however, is only the first step in establishing a legally enforceable digital act. For a digital transaction to produce sound legal effects, it must form part of a complete chain of trust combining several complementary components. The European Digital Identity ensures the reliability of authentication; trust services secure the act itself.
Where a user, authenticated via their European wallet, enters into a contract or validates a declaration, an electronic signature formalises their consent.
A qualified electronic time stamp then guarantees that the commitment existed at a specific point in time and has not been altered since. This temporal dimension is decisive, particularly in contractual, regulatory or contentious contexts.
An electronic seal enables legal persons to secure the origin of issued documents. It provides assurance of institutional authenticity, particularly relevant in business-to-business exchanges or communications with public authorities.
Finally, secure electronic archiving ensures the long-term preservation of evidence, which is indispensable where statutory obligations extend over several years.
The combination of these services with the EUDI Wallet makes it possible to construct a coherent environment in which identity is verified, consent is formalised, the date is certified and the document remains intact and enforceable over time.
In this model, the European wallet becomes the entry point to digital interaction, while trust services structure the legal reliability of the transaction.
From authentication to enforceable evidence
Until now, organisations have often treated user authentication and document security as separate matters. The evolution of the European framework now makes it possible to envisage a unified architecture in which verified identity directly supports a legally structured act.
This convergence marks a significant stage in the maturity of the European digital market. It enables a transition from a logic of secure access to one of fully enforceable digital commitment.
Conclusion
The European Digital Identity represents a structuring development in the construction of a unified and secure digital market. By introducing an interoperable identity wallet recognised across the Union, eIDAS 2.0 strengthens the reliability of online interactions.
Authentication, however, is only the first step. To ensure the legal validity of digital acts, it must form part of a complete chain of trust incorporating an electronic signature or electronic seal, a qualified electronic time stamp and secure electronic archiving.
Organisations that anticipate this development will not only be able to comply with the new European requirements, but also to structure digital processes that are more resilient, streamlined and strategically aligned.
If you wish to prepare for the integration of the European Digital Identity into your document workflows and reinforce the evidential layer of your digital exchanges, Evidency’s teams can assist you in implementing a compliant and sustainable architecture.
Disclaimer
The opinions, presentations, figures and estimates set forth on the website including in the blog are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. For legal advice you should contact a legal professional in your jurisdiction.
The use of any content on this website, including in this blog, for any commercial purposes, including resale, is prohibited, unless permission is first obtained from Evidency. Request for permission should state the purpose and the extent of the reproduction. For non-commercial purposes, all material in this publication may be freely quoted or reprinted, but acknowledgement is required, together with a link to this website.
